1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to poultry watering systems, particularly to those that are portable and dispense water to poultry through poultry nipple valves.
2. Background Art
Water is an essential element that is required by all organisms in order to perform the metabolic processes required to grow, reproduce, and respond to their environments. Not surprisingly, the provision of safe drinking water is a concern to those involved in animal husbandry and pet keeping. The need for fresh water is particularly important in the raising of poultry: Poultry need water to soften and digest their food since their diet consists of feed and seeds that are normally quite dry. Poultry need water to properly regulate their body temperature because birds use a highly water-intensive process known as evaporative cooling in order transfer heat from their bodies to the air. Finally, poultry need water to lay eggs because eggs are 75% water by weight.
There is a large body of prior art in the field of animal watering systems. One category of watering system dispenses the water into a pan or trough. In such systems, the water is directly exposed to the open air and animals drink by scooping up the water in their mouths and/or beaks. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 778,624; 1,933,723; 1,983,613; 3,063,217; 3,675,627; 4,794,881; 5,218,926; 6,079,361; and 7,735,455 B2 represent such open-pan or open-trough systems intended for poultry. Similar systems are used for cats and dogs as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,718,911 B2; 5,105,768; and 6,067,935 as well as for horses as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,934. U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,587 represents an open pan systems that has been configured with a series of paddles. These paddles are intended to remove particulates that might fall into the open trough as a result of exposure to the environment.
A second category of watering systems distributes water to animals (particularly livestock such as chickens, turkeys and pigs) via a series of connected pipes that are fitted with special valves generally referred to as poultry nipples. In such systems, the water is not exposed to the open air because it is transported to the animals via closed pipes and then dispensed via the poultry nipples attached to those pipes. Specifically, the animal drinks by pecking at a stem located at the base of the poultry nipple. This pecking action opens a valve inside the nipple that then dispenses a quantity of water directly into the animal's mouth. U.S. Pat. No. 1,912,530 was one of the first of these closed systems and there is a large body of prior art for such systems including, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,775,227; 3,263,652; 3,610,206; 3,664,305; 3,724,425; 4,491,088; and 5,099,798.
Generally, nipple based watering systems are connected to a fixed water tank or municipal water line. A water pressure regulator unit is often added to the design in order to reduce the incoming water pressure to a level that is commensurate with the proper functioning of the poultry nipples.
Nipple based systems also incorporate components that allow them to be cleaned of particulates and/or bacteria that might enter the watering system from the water source. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,422 uses inlet and exit valves to pressure flush the watering system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,754 uses a pump, motor, tank, and pipe fittings to drive disinfectant through the system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,983 uses a water-regulator bypass valve, self-sealing caps, and exit valve to enable high-pressure flushing.
Open and closed watering systems (particularly those that incorporate stretches of pipework, conduit or water channels) are frequently equipped with mechanisms to prevent poultry from perching upon, or above, the watering system. For example, these watering systems include a wide range of components designed to prevent this perching, or roosting such as: wire barriers, electrified wire, gabled tops on which birds have difficulty perching and various other mechanical barriers and de-stabilizing mechanisms that discourage roosting. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,122,131; 3,285,227; 4,669,422; 5,097,798; 5,025,754; 5,184,570; 5,230,302; 5,239,944; and 6,933,446 represent such anti-roosting features.